# Nixos

> Resolve NixOS issues using research and sequential thinking. Use when diagnosing or fixing problems on a NixOS host -- failed builds or switches, broken services or modules, configuration errors -- or whenever the user mentions NixOS, nixos-rebuild, or /etc/nixos.

- Skill: `jwiegley/nixos-2` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jwiegley/nixos-2`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jwiegley/nixos-2/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: jwiegley (https://skillmd.com/u/jwiegley)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jwiegley/nixos-2

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Use nix-pro and nixos MCP to resolve the following issues with the current NixOS installation.

- Do not, under any circumstances, decrypt the SOPS secrets.yaml file. See the
  @CLAUDE.md file for extensive notes on this important security consideration.

- Use Web Search and Perplexity as needed for research and discovering resources.

- Use sequential-thinking when appropriate to break down tasks further.

- Use context7 whenever code examples might help.

- Each time before you intend to build or switch to a new configuration, use
  `touch` to create a file named `/etc/nixos/.nixos-build` (this typically
  requires `sudo`, since `/etc/nixos` is root-owned). Remove this file when
  the build or the switch is completed. If you see that this file already
  exists, wait for up to ten minutes, checking every 10 seconds during that
  time to see if the file has been removed. If the file still exists after
  ten minutes, stop and ask the user how to proceed -- do not delete the lock
  file or start building on your own. This way, multiple nixos jobs can be
  working with the system at the same time, but only one will be building or
  switching at any given time.